Hey Ladies! Achieving a lean midsection is not easy for you. Although the muscles of women and men are not different, women tend to be wider through the pelvis and waist. Therefore, it is challenging for women to get flat & firm abs. Well, fret not; Getting abs is not impossible, ladies! You can consider a few great abs workouts for women to accomplish your goals.
You might be thinking about why getting abs is crucial. Some of the primary benefits of an abs workout are that it helps reduce lower back pain, build stability, and improve posture. Despite these benefits, abs workouts for women strengthen the core and avoid the risk of injuries.
Some women rush toward extensive workouts to accomplish this goal. However, for core workouts, slow down, move with control, and breathe through each movement.
All the great abs workouts for women targets the below muscles group:
- External abdominal oblique
- Internal abdominal oblique
- Transversus abdominals
- Rectus abdominis
Let us discuss some essential abs exercises to incorporate into your fitness regime!
Essential Abs Workouts for Women
If you want to target your four muscle groups, be sure to incorporate a range of stabilization exercises. Exercises that focus on these muscles stabilize your spine, core, and pelvis. It helps improve your posture, reduce back pain, and avoid back injuries.
Aside from the traditional crunches and sit-ups that only target the core, the stabilization exercises focus on muscles and burn more calories.
Some common abs workouts for women are:
One of the amazing abs workouts for women is plank crawl out. Despite targeting the core, it challenges your upper body to stabilize it. Stabilization is an often-overlooked term in fitness. It is not as glamorous as six-pack abs or as sexy as sculpted thighs, but it is extremely important to the health and strength of your entire body.
Here are the steps to perform a plank crawl out:
- Stand upright with your feet together
- Bend at your hips and touch the ground and walk on your hands to attain a plank position
- Crawl your way back up to the starting position by pinching your hands backward and
piking your hips up to the ceiling
When your feet are flat on the floor, bend at the hips again and lift yourself back up to the standing position.
Also, Read – Top 10 Abs Workout Machines to Strengthen Your Core
Another effective ab workout for women is side planks. It is one of the great exercises to strengthen the oblique abdominal muscles. You might be familiar that strong oblique muscles are essential for core stabilization.
Here are step by step instructions to practice side planks:
- Lie on your right side on the ground
- Place your shoulders and forearms perpendicular to your body
- Now contract your abs and lift your hips to make a diagonal line from your shoulder to your feet
- Hold this position for 30 seconds
- Return to the starting position
- Switch sides and repeat
Surprisingly it doesn’t put pressure on your back and neck. It stabilizes your hips, gluteus maximus, and core.
You might be interested in trying the traditional core strengthening pose. The boat pose is one of the best abs workouts for women that builds abdominal strength. Additionally, it targets deep hip flexors that become weak with time.
Here is how you can try one of the best abs workouts for women:
- Start in a seated position with bent knees and flat feet on the ground
- Lift your feet off the floor but keep your knees bent
- Now lean back, balancing on your sit bone
- Extend your arms out and palms up
- Hold this V-shape of your body for 30 seconds
- Repeat this pose three to four times
Incorporate this pose or some others similar to this and challenge your core strength!
One of the popular abs workouts for women includes reverse crunch. If you face discomfort in traditional crunch or sit-ups, reverse crunch is the best workout for you. It will activate your abdominal muscles and external obliques on the sides of the abdomen.
Moreover, it strengthens your core and abdominal muscles. Strengthening the abdominal muscles will prepare you not only for vigorous sporting activity but also for those active tasks around the home, like gardening, where bending and twisting, and reaching are paramount.
Here is how to practice reverse crunch abs workout for women:
- Bent your knees at 90 degrees with flat feet on the ground
- Reach your arms forward, palms facing each other
- Exhale, pulling your belly button toward your spine
- Roll back onto your tailbone, curving your spine into a C shape
- Inhale and return to the starting position
- Do 15 more reverse crunches
Add a variety of abs workouts for women into your routine to challenge yourself in a slightly different way.
Also, Read – Top 10 Best Abs Workout Exercises
Here is another perfect ab workout that you can incorporate into your fitness journey. For this exercise, you need a space to move freely on the ground. It is an intense full-body workout that doesn’t require any equipment.
Mastering the alligator drag will build your endurance, core strength, and stability.
Here is how to perform an alligator drag ab workout for women:
- Attain a plank position
- Walk forward using your hands
- Keep your core and glutes tight when moving forward
- Rest for a minute, and again start the alligator drag
- Keep resting and repeating
Use your entire core for stability and combine movement and resistance for adding intensity!
Abs Workouts for Women – Final Words
There are numerous abs workouts for women with varying intensity. You can incorporate those which is suitable for your core and stability. Before starting abs exercises, shed the extra fat from your midsection. If you start exercising without shedding weight, you will not get results even after hundred repetitions.